1980–81 Houston Rockets season

March 2026 August 2023 Houston Rockets 1981 yes 40 42 Midwest 2 6 Del Harris The Summit KHTV KTRH NBA Finals(lost to Celtics 2–4) HOU The 1980–81 Houston Rockets season saw the team advance to the NBA Finals. The 1981 Rockets were the first team since the 1959 Minneapolis Lakers to make the NBA Finals with a losing record. In the playoffs, the Rockets defeated the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in three games in the First Round, then defeated the San Antonio Spurs in seven games in the Semifinals, and the Kansas City Kings in five games in the conference finals, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In the Finals, they fell to the Boston Celtics in six games. Draft picks 1980 NBA draft RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege/Club team 2 27 John Stroud United States Ole Miss 2 38 Terry Stotts United States Oklahoma 2 43 Billy Williams United States Clemson 4 84 Dean Hunger United States Utah State 5 106 Albert Jones United States New Mexico 6 130 Everette Jefferson United States New Mexico 7 152 Joe Nehls United States Arizona 8 173 Rosie Barnes United States Bowling Greenhttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=1980 1980 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 2012-02-27 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20120209215927/http://databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1980&lg=N 2012-02-09 https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/draft.html Houston Rockets Draft Picks Basketball Reference August 23, 2020 Roster Houston Rockets 1980–81 #B50000 #FFFFFF #FFAA1D #000000 10 Mike Dunleavy Mike Dunleavy Sr. G 6 1 180 –– South Carolina 00 Calvin Garrett SF 6 7 190 –– Oral Roberts 6 Tom Henderson basketball G 6 3 190 –– Hawaii 11 Major Jones F 6 9 225 –– Albany State 30 Allen Leavell G 6 1 170 –– Oklahoma City 24 Moses Malone C 6 11 235 –– Petersburg HS (VA) 23 Calvin Murphy PG 5 9 165 –– Niagara 5 Billy Paultz F/C 6 11 235 –– St. John's 50 Robert Reid basketball SF 6 8 205 –– St. Mary's Texas 42 John Stroud F 6 7 215 –– Ole Miss 45 Rudy Tomjanovich F 6 8 218 –– Michigan 32 Bill Willoughby SF 6 8 205 –– Dwight Morrow HS (NJ) Del Harris Herb Brown Carroll Dawson Regular season In the 1980–81 season, after the newly established Dallas Mavericks became the third NBA team in Texas,http://www.nba.com/mavericks/history/00400544.html#2 Mavs History NBA.com 2008-05-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20080511221024/http://www.nba.com/mavericks/history/00400544.html 11 May 2008 live the NBA restructured the conferences and sent the Rockets, who had previously played in the Eastern Conference, to the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. It was head coach Del Harris's second season, and he led Houston to a 40–42 record. The Rockets tied with the Kansas City Kings for second place in the Midwest Division behind San Antonio. Houston had one game remaining to be played on its regular-season schedule when the team qualified for the playoffs.https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1981.html 1980-81 Houston Rockets Basketball-Reference.com 2008-05-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20080517160957/http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1981.html 17 May 2008 live During the season, point guard Calvin Murphy set two NBA records, both of which had previously been held by Rick Barry. Murphy sank 78 consecutive free throws, to break Barry's mark of 60 set in 1976, and Murphy's season free-throw percentage was .958, breaking Barry's record of .947 set in 1979 (when Barry had been a member of the Rockets).http://www.nba.com/history/players/murphy_bio.html NBA.com Calvin Murphy Bio NBA 2009-02-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090220185624/http://www.nba.com/history/players/murphy_bio.html 20 February 2009 live Season standings HOU HOU Notes z, y – division champions x – clinched playoff spot Game log Regular season Houston Rockets 1981 #FF0000 #FFD700 Total: 40–42 (home: 25–16; road: 15–26) Houston Rockets October yes #FFD700 #FF0000 2 2 2 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | October 10 | @ San Diego | L 104–120 | | | | San Diego Sports Arena | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | October 12 | @ Los Angeles | L 103–114 | | | | The Forum | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | October 15 | Seattle | W 103–100 | | | | The Summit | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | October 17 | @ Portland | W 102–99 | | | | Memorial Coliseum | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | October 18 | @ Golden State | L 101–108 | | | | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | October 21 | @ Denver | W 119–117 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | October 23 | Kansas City | L 96–105 | | | | The Summit | 3–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 8 | October 25 | Detroit | L 109–112 | | | | The Summit | 3–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | October 29 | Dallas | W 109–103 | | | | The Summit | 4–5 Houston Rockets November #FFD700 #FF0000 3 3 4 5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 10 | November 5 | San Diego | L 104–111 | | | | The Summit | 4–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | November 8 | Phoenix | L 115–116 | | | | The Summit | 4–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 11 | @ Dallas | W 105–94 | | | | Reunion Arena | 5–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | November 12 | Los Angeles | W 107–104 | | | | The Summit | 6–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 14 | November 14 | @ Utah | L 115–117 | | | | Salt Palace Acord Arena | 6–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 15 | November 15 | @ Seattle | L 139–143 (OT) | | | | Kingdome | 6–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 16 | November 18 | Seattle | W 138–118 | | | | The Summit | 7–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | November 20 | @ Cleveland | W 117–114 | | | | Richfield Coliseum | 8–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 18 | November 21 | @ New Jersey | W 116–108 | | | | Rutgers Athletic Center | 9–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 19 | November 22 | @ Indiana | L 120–129 | | | | Market Square Arena | 9–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 20 | November 24 | @ New York | L 110–113 (OT) | | | | Madison Square Garden | 9–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 21 | November 26 | Philadelphia | L 100–101 | | | | The Summit | 9–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | November 28 | @ San Antonio | W 124–115 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 10–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 23 | November 29 | Dallas | W 115–90 | | | | The Summit | 11–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 24 | November 30 | @ Phoenix | L 114–117 | | | | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 11–13 Houston Rockets December #FFD700 #FF0000 3 3 2 6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 25 | December 3 | Cleveland | W 118–109 | | | | The Summit | 12–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 26 | December 5 | @ Kansas City | L 100–108 | | | | Kemper Arena | 12–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 27 | December 6 | Denver | W 111–108 | | | | The Summit | 13–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 28 | December 10 | Los Angeles | L 108–109 | | | | The Summit | 13–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 29 | December 12 | @ Portland | L 100–106 | | | | Memorial Coliseum | 13–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 30 | December 13 | @ Golden State | W 99–97 | | | | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 14–16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 31 | December 17 | San Antonio | L 107–113 | | | | The Summit | 14–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 32 | December 19 | @ Boston | L 119–133 | | | | Boston Garden | 14–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 33 | December 20 | @ Chicago | L 109–133 | | | | Chicago Stadium | 14–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 34 | December 21 | @ Milwaukee | L 91–123 | | | | MECCA Arena | 14–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 35 | December 23 | Golden State | L 99–114 | | | | The Summit | 14–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 36 | December 26 | @ Detroit | W 114–94 | | | | Pontiac Silverdome | 15–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 37 | December 27 | @ Washington | L 97–115 | | | | Capital Centre | 15–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 38 | December 30 | San Diego | W 104–98 | | | | The Summit | 16–22 Houston Rockets January #FFD700 #FF0000 6 3 2 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 39 | January 1 | Utah | W 117–103 | | | | The Summit | 17–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 40 | January 2 | @ Dallas | W 124–120 (OT) | | | | Reunion Arena | 18–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 41 | January 3 | Denver | L 132–134 | | | | The Summit | 18–23 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 42 | January 7 | Kansas City | L 108–114 | | | | The Summit | 18–24 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 43 | January 9 | @ Philadelphia | L 94–107 | | | | The Spectrum | 18–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 44 | January 10 | Portland | W 106–105 | | | | The Summit | 19–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | January 14 | Chicago | W 109–105 | | | | The Summit | 20–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 46 | January 16 | @ Phoenix | L 89–92 | | | | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 20–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 47 | January 17 | New York | L 98–99 | | | | The Summit | 20–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 48 | January 18 | @ Denver | W 98–97 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 21–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 49 | January 21 | Phoenix | W 106–100 | | | | The Summit | 22–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 50 | January 23 | @ Kansas City | L 107–113 | | | | Kemper Arena | 22–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 51 | January 24 | Utah | W 106–91 | | | | The Summit | 23–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 52 | January 28 | New Jersey | W 111–99 | | | | The Summit | 24–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 53 | January 29 | @ Utah | L 97–99 | | | | Salt Palace Acord Arena | 24–29 Houston Rockets February #FFD700 #FF0000 6 3 3 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 54 | February 3 | Denver | W 135–128 (OT) | | | | The Summit | 25–29 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 55 | February 4 | Dallas | W 116–68 | | | | The Summit | 26–29 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 56 | February 6 | @ Phoenix | L 99–112 | | | | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 26–30 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 57 | February 7 | Atlanta | W 87–81 | | | | The Summit | 27–30 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 58 | February 11 | San Antonio | W 108–89 | | | | The Summit | 28–30 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 59 | February 13 | Los Angeles | L 105–114 | | | | The Summit | 28–31 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 60 | February 14 | Milwaukee | L 112–117 | | | | The Summit | 28–32 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 61 | February 19 | @ San Diego | L 99–116 | | | | San Diego Sports Arena | 28–33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 62 | February 20 | @ Los Angeles | W 110–107 | | | | The Forum | 29–33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 63 | February 22 | @ Seattle | W 111–96 | | | | Kingdome | 30–33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 64 | February 23 | @ Utah | W 106–102 | | | | Salt Palace Acord Arena | 31–33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 65 | February 25 | Indiana | W 101–100 | | | | The Summit | 32–33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 66 | February 27 | Seattle | W 96–92 | | | | The Summit | 33–33 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 67 | February 28 | San Diego | L 103–104 | | | | The Summit | 33–34 Houston Rockets March #FFD700 #FF0000 5 2 2 6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 68 | March 1 | @ San Antonio | L 86–102 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 33–35 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 69 | March 4 | Boston | L 101–108 | | | | The Summit | 33–36 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 70 | March 6 | Washington | L 104–105 | | | | The Summit | 33–37 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 71 | March 7 | @ Atlanta | L 108–114 | | | | The Omni | 33–38 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 72 | March 11 | Golden State | W 109–92 | | | | The Summit | 34–38 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 73 | March 13 | Portland | W 126–104 | | | | The Summit | 35–38 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 74 | March 14 | Utah | W 101–82 | | | | The Summit | 36–38 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 75 | March 15 | @ Denver | L 127–138 | | | | McNichols Sports Arena | 36–39 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 76 | March 18 | @ Golden State | L 117–118 | | | | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena | 36–40 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 77 | March 20 | @ Portland | L 103–107 | | | | Memorial Coliseum | 36–41 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 78 | March 22 | @ Kansas City | W 114–108 | | | | Kemper Arena | 37–41 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 79 | March 24 | @ Dallas | W 114–111 (OT) | | | | Reunion Arena | 38–41 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 80 | March 25 | San Antonio | W 117–111 | | | | The Summit | 39–41 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 81 | March 27 | Kansas City | W 91–84 | | | | The Summit | 40–41 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 82 | March 29 | @ San Antonio | L 109–135 | | | | HemisFair Arena | 40–42 HOU 1981 Playoffs Houston Rockets 1981 yes #BA0C2F #FFC82C Houston Rockets First Round yes yes no #FFC82C #BA0C2F 0 1 2 0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 1 | @ Los Angeles | W 111–107 | Moses Malone (38) | Moses Malone (23) | Allen Leavell (8) | The Forum15,517 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 3 | Los Angeles | L 106–111 | Moses Malone (33) | Moses Malone (15) | Calvin Murphy (8) | The Summit16,121 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | April 5 | @ Los Angeles | W 89–86 | Moses Malone (23) | Moses Malone (15) | Tom Henderson (7) | The Forum14,813 | 2–1 |- Houston Rockets Conference Semifinals yes no #FFC82C #BA0C2F 1 2 3 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 7 | @ San Antonio | W 107–98 | Moses Malone (27) | Moses Malone (10) | Reid, Murphy (6) | HemisFair Arena13,319 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 8 | @ San Antonio | L 113–125 | Calvin Murphy (34) | Moses Malone (12) | Robert Reid (10) | HemisFair Arena12,128 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | April 10 | San Antonio | W 112–99 | Moses Malone (41) | Moses Malone (15) | Reid, Murphy (4) | The Summit16,121 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | April 12 | San Antonio | L 112–114 | Robert Reid (33) | Moses Malone (9) | Reid, Henderson (6) | The Summit16,121 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | April 14 | @ San Antonio | W 123–117 | Calvin Murphy (36) | Moses Malone (13) | Tom Henderson (7) | HemisFair Arena16,114 | 3–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | April 15 | San Antonio | L 96–101 | Moses Malone (36) | Moses Malone (10) | Reid, Henderson (7) | The Summit16,121 | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | April 17 | @ San Antonio | W 105–100 | Calvin Murphy (42) | Moses Malone (16) | Tom Henderson (8) | HemisFair Arena16,114 | 4–3 |- Houston Rockets Conference Finals yes no #FFC82C #BA0C2F 2 0 2 1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 21 | @ Kansas City | W 97–78 | Moses Malone (29) | Moses Malone (12) | Mike Dunleavy (6) | Kemper Arena13,885 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 22 | @ Kansas City | L 79–88 | Moses Malone (18) | Moses Malone (15) | Tom Henderson (7) | Kemper Arena14,326 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | April 24 | Kansas City | W 92–88 | Reid, Paultz (20) | Malone, Paultz (12) | Mike Dunleavy (10) | The Summit16,121 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | April 26 | Kansas City | W 100–89 | Moses Malone (42) | Moses Malone (23) | Robert Reid (9) | The Summit16,121 | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | April 29 | @ Kansas City | W 97–88 | Moses Malone (36) | Moses Malone (11) | Tom Henderson (6) | Kemper Arena14,640 | 4–1 |- Houston Rockets NBA Finals yes no #FFC82C #BA0C2F 1 2 1 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | May 5 | @ Boston | L 95–98 | Robert Reid (27) | Moses Malone (15) | Mike Dunleavy (7) | Boston Garden15,320 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | May 7 | @ Boston | W 92–90 | Moses Malone (31) | Moses Malone (15) | three players tied (3) | Boston Garden15,320 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 9 | Boston | L 71–94 | Moses Malone (23) | Moses Malone (15) | three players tied (2) | The Summit16,121 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | May 10 | Boston | W 91–86 | Mike Dunleavy (28) | Moses Malone (22) | Tom Henderson (9) | The Summit16,121 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | May 12 | @ Boston | L 80–109 | Moses Malone (20) | Moses Malone (11) | Allen Leavell (6) | Boston Garden15,320 | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 6 | May 14 | Boston | L 91–102 | Robert Reid (27) | Moses Malone (16) | Henderson, Reid (5) | The Summit16,121 | 2–4 |- HOU 1981 yes Player statistics Season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPGPPGMoses Malone 80 40.6 .522 .333 .757 14.8 1.8 1.0 1.9 27.8Calvin Murphy 76 26.5 .492 .235 .958 1.1 2.9 1.50.1 16.7Robert Reid 82 36.1 .482 .000 .756 7.1 4.2 2.00.8 15.9Rudy Tomjanovich 52 24.3 .467 .235 .793 4.0 1.6 0.40.1 11.6Mike Dunleavy 74 21.7 .491 .063 .839 1.6 3.6 0.90.0 10.5Allen Leavell 79 21.3 .471 .118 .832 1.7 4.9 1.20.2 8.1Billy Paultz 81 20.5 .507 .000 .490 4.8 1.3 0.3 0.9 7.4Bill Willoughby 55 20.8 .523 .766 4.1 1.2 0.3 0.6 6.3Calvin Garrett 70 23.4 .453 .333 .806 3.8 1.9 0.7 0.1 6.1Tom Henderson 66 21.4 .413 .000 .821 1.6 4.7 0.8 0.1 5.3https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1981.html 1980-81 Houston Rockets Roster and Stats Playoffs Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Awards and records Awards Moses Malone, All-NBA Second Team Transactions Trades October 7, 1980: Traded Paul Mokeski to the Detroit Pistons for a 1982 2nd round draft pick. See also 1980–81 NBA season References 2 Category:Houston Rockets seasons Category:Western Conference (NBA) championship seasons Houston Category:1980 in sports in Texas Category:1981 in sports in Texas Category:1980 in Houston Category:1981 in Houston